Electrical energy and power generation and distribution has been a mainstay for residential and commercial energy needs all over the world and for many years. Various forms of electrical energy generation have been devised, including coal fired power plants, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric plants, wind harness plants, and others. All of these forms of electrical energy generation are well known to those of skill in the art of power generation.
As power generation has advanced, power usage has increased. Due to advances in technology and cultural factors, the demand for electrical energy steadily rises. Energy production facilities and distributors such as electrical utility providers therefore meet the rising demand for electricity with greater production capabilities. However, utility providers do not need to provide the same maximum capacity of electrical power production to consumers at all times. Consumer needs greatly fluctuate based on the time of day, time of year, and other related factors. Therefore, utility providers have implemented programs wherein they charge more per watt-hour of energy consumed during predetermined periods of time when overall consumer demand is expected to be higher than usual. These programs are referred to herein as “time-of-use” energy billing programs. These programs help the providers offset their costs of operating peaking power plants that are primarily brought online during those high-demand periods of time. The price increases are not typically directly associated with the activity of any single consumer.
Utility providers have also implemented programs to charge individual consumers for consuming energy at high power levels without being dependent on the levels of others' simultaneous consumption. Under these programs, the consumer is billed a “demand charge” that is based on and directly related to the highest magnitude of power drawn from the grid at some point during a billing period. Therefore, these programs are referred to herein as “demand charge” energy billing programs.
Some customers participate in demand response programs wherein a utility provider provides compensation when the customers curtail their consumption or provide power to the grid when requested by the provider. During periods of high grid load, demand response signals may be sent to participating customers to reduce consumption or provide power to the grid at certain magnitudes or over certain periods of time. Customers may be penalized for failing to provide the necessary response when requested. Utility consumers are therefore constantly in need of advancements in technology that can help them reduce costs, optimize their equipment, or improve the efficiency of their consumption.